Within the shot, the time splits almost evenly between the draw and the aim

The summary today

The only study that separates the draw and the aim with boundaries close to those of the claim, in a venue without reservations, goes against an even split: in 16 young Malaysian archers at 70 metres, an average of 1.48 seconds passes from the pre-draw to the anchor and 3.32 from the anchor to the release, so the aim takes more than two thirds of the time spent in the two phases. A second study, of 28 Chinese archers at three levels, finds roughly half each instead, with the draw lasting 2.1 to 2.5 seconds and the aim 2.2 to 2.4; it appeared, however, in a journal with questionable editorial standards, and the standard deviations of its percentages do not match each other, so the registry keeps it as context and does not let it decide the status. The timings from the 2007 World Championships had already shown how much the proportion changes from one archer to another, with a women's world champion who aimed for 0.6 to 1.2 seconds after a raise and draw of about four. The overall duration from draw to release is similar across studies, at around four or five seconds; it is the split within it that does not hold as a rule.

Also phrased as: "shot rhythm"; "how long the draw takes"; "how long the aim takes"; "shot timing"; "draw and aim take the same time"

Evidence

• 2009
  Context Archers Published later

  From video of the 2007 World Outdoor Championships, the two recurve world champions and their opponents, seven matches each of 12 arrows: the phase from raising the bow to the anchor, which here includes the raise, lasts 2.45 to 7.68 seconds in the men's matches and the aim 1.70 to 6.86. In the men's champion the two phases are about equal (2.46 and 2.65 seconds in his first match, for example), while the women's champion aims for 0.61 to 1.24 seconds after a raise and draw of 3.78 to 4.45. The phase boundaries do not match those of the later studies, but the proportion changes a great deal from one archer to another.

  Characteristics of time spent on each phase during archery shooting: A study of the men's and women's individual gold medalists from the World Outdoor Archery Championships · Hideaki Takai, Yoko Kubo, Masanobu Araki

• 2023
  Against Archers Published later

  16 young recurve archers from Malaysian state squads, 576 arrows at 70 m filmed from the side: 1.48 ± 0.50 seconds pass from the pre-draw to full draw and anchor, and 3.32 ± 1.60 from the anchor to the release, so the aim takes about 69 per cent of the time spent in the two phases. The whole cycle, from raising the bow to the end of the follow-through, lasts 10.33 seconds; the higher-scoring group aims for longer (median 3.38 against 2.72 seconds), but the length of the aim is not linked to the score of the individual arrow.

  Comparison of Shooting Time Characteristics and Shooting Posture Between High- and Low- Performance Archers · Jiun Sien Lau, Rosniwati Ghafar, Erie Zuraidee Zulkifli, Hairul Anuar Hashim, Harsa Amylia Mat Sakim

• 2024
  Context Archers Published later

  28 Chinese recurve archers, the 8 national team members preparing for Tokyo 2020 and 20 from provincial squads, 12 arrows at 30 m with motion capture: the draw, from the highest point of the bow to the moment the elbow stops, lasts 2.1, 2.2 and 2.5 seconds at the three levels, and the aim 2.2, 2.4 and 2.3, that is 48.8, 47.8 and 58.6 per cent of the time against 51.2, 52.2 and 41.4. Only the length of the draw separates the levels. The standard deviations of the two percentages, which add up to a hundred and should therefore match, differ in one group (19.7 against 14.6), and the journal has questionable editorial standards.

  A Comparative Study on the Joint Coordination of Archery Athletes of Different Skill Levels: Based on Functional Data Analysis Questionable venue · Baifa Zhang, Zhi-Cheng Lin

• 2025
  Context Archers Published later

  A wristband with an accelerometer worn by 6 Chinese teenage archers in official competition: the authors set the analysis window at 4 seconds because the great majority of actions from draw to release fit within that time. It gives the overall duration, close to the 4.3 to 4.8 seconds measured in the other two studies, but does not split it between the phases.

  A Machine Learning-Based Multimodal Framework for Wearable Sensor-Based Archery Action Recognition and Stress Estimation · Xianghe Liu, Jiajia Liu, Chuxian Xu, Minghan Wang, Hongbo Peng, Tao Sun, Jiaqi Xu

Status history

1. 2009 Not studied The first timings of the shot in competition come from the 2007 World Championships: in the two world champions and their opponents the raise and draw lasts from two and a half seconds to almost eight, the aim from just over half a second to almost seven, and the ratio between them changes from one archer to another. The raise of the bow, however, is counted together with the draw, so nobody has yet measured how the time splits between draw and aim with comparable boundaries.
2. 2023 Contradicted The first study to separate draw and aim with boundaries close to those of the claim, on 16 young Malaysian archers at 70 metres, finds an aim more than twice as long as the draw: 3.32 seconds against 1.48. It is a single study, of state-squad teenagers, and it goes against the idea of an even split: contradicted.
3. 2024 Contradicted A study pointing the other way arrives: in 28 Chinese archers, national team included, the draw and the aim take about half each at every level, with the draw between 48 and 59 per cent. It appeared, however, in a journal with questionable editorial standards, the standard deviations of its two percentages, which add up to a hundred, do not match, and it sets the start of the aim when the elbow stops rather than at the anchor. A questionable venue does not decide a status, so it stays as context and the only evidence that counts is still the 2023 study, which goes against the claim: contradicted.
4. 2025 Contradicted An accelerometer on the wrists of six teenage archers in competition confirms the overall duration, with almost every action from draw to release fitting within four seconds, but it does not say how that time is split. On the proportion there is still a single usable study, and it goes against an even split: the status does not change.

Related

Related articles

• How long an archery shot lasts: the timing of each phase and the scoreHow long the wait, the draw, the aim and the follow-through last in an archery shot, and what their timing says about the score of each arrow.

Research lines

• 48 studiesBow stability and aiming time: research since 1971
• 54 studiesMovement variability and individual technique since 1971

Other claims in this domain

• CorroboratedBetween one and a half and two tenths of a second pass between the clicker sounding and the arrow leaving7 studies · 94 archers measuredStatus since 1990
• ReportedA camera diagonally behind the archer measures the vertical sway of the aim well, but not the horizontal1 study · 3 archers measuredStatus since 2010
• ReportedA continuous final pull through the clicker leads to better shots9 studies · 56 archers measuredStatus since 1993
• ReportedA sound or light cue about the angle of the bow arm tightens beginners' groups2 studies · 1 archers measuredStatus since 2012
• ReportedA thumb grip on the string is less tiring than a finger grip3 studies · 9 archers measuredStatus since 1990

See all claims on technique and biomechanics